Category Archives: Recruiting
UofL Is Reentering 2018 G Courtney Ramey’s Recruitment
Photo Courtesy of rivals.com
It was about a week ago that UofL Head Coach Chris Mack announced that UofL was no longer recruiting 2018 4 Star PG and former UofL commit Courtney Ramey.
Many UofL media and fans were caught off guard that Mack mentioned a recruit by name and thought that definitively ended UofL’s pursuit of Ramey.
UofL Football Picks Up Commitment From 2019 KY Offensive Lineman
Photo Courtesy of 247sports.com
UofL Football picked up another commitment from an in-state recruit tonight in Jack Randolph from Franklin-Simpson High School in Franklin, KY.
Randolph, a 6’3 290 lbs OT chose UofL over offers from Cincinnati, EKU, Georgia State, Morehead State, and Middle Tennessee State. He also had interest from Purdue, Vanderbilt, and WKU. UofL’s primary recruiter for Randolph was Offensive Line Coach and Co-offensive Coordinator Mike Summers per 247sports.com.
UofL Football Loses Staff Member To Oregon
Photo Courtesy of Stephen Field’s Twitter Account (@CoachField)
UofL Football recruited the state of Florida, especially south Florida, well. The man who had a huge influence on this was south Florida native Stephen Field. He and the rest of the staff brought in possibly UofL’s best ever recruiting class with a good number of the recruits from Florida.
It was announced today that Coach Field was leaving UofL for a position on Oregon’s staff. There he will reunite with Cort Dennison.
In April of last year, Field was hired to the position of “Director of High School Relations” for UofL. Judging by the talent in this class, he did an excellent job in that role.
Coach Field was kind enough to tweet out a nice good-bye to the UofL community proving what a classy man he is.
UofL has some big shoes to fill with the loss of Coach Field. We here at Cardinal Sports Zone wish Coach Field all the best at his new home.
UofL Football Lands Commitment From Local 2019 WR
Photo Courtesy of Demontae Crumes Twitter Account (@FyFlgTaeTae)
UofL Football Coach Bobby Petrino is recruiting the city of Louisville hard for 2019. He just picked up his first commitment from Butler Traditional High School 3 Star WR Demontae “Tae Tae” Crumes.
UofL Signee Breakdown: Jairus Brents
Photo Courtesy of Michael Reaves/Lexington Herald Leader
Many people on social media wondered why UofL was not getting in on some highly rated guys we have in the city of Louisville. One name in particular that kept coming up was Jairus Brents, a 4 Star CB out of Waggener High School.
Well, wonder no more UofL fans as Coach Petrino was able to swoop in late and beat the likes of Alabama, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Michigan State, among many others for the 5’10 178 lbs CB.
Brents played a variety of positions at Waggener. He was a RB, QB, and WR. However, his best and most likely position in college will be CB. He can play either in the slot or the outside and is great at either.
He’s also a track star which, as you will see, definitely contributes to his play making ability as a football player.
As a CB, and probably because he played WR as well, Brents tracks the ball perfectly in the air. He’s always getting his head around, finding the ball, and making the play.
Photo Courtesy of Adam Creech/Courier Journal
Brents also has great ball skills. He’s a great leaper and can go up and highpoint the ball just like a WR.
Brents can play press or off coverage and is adept at either. In press, he is powerful. He knocks WRs viciously off their routes disrupting the timing of the offense. In off coverage, he has the speed to break on short routes to either knock the ball down, intercept it, or make the tackle holding the WR to a minimal gain. If Brents gets an interception, his speed, quickness, and agility make him a threat to get a pick 6 every time.
Brents ability to recognize routes and read the QB’s eyes make him nearly impossible to throw on. As I previously mentioned, he’s great at breaking on routes and making plays. He’ll have to be aware in college of the double moves teams love to run though.
Brents is also a great tackler. Even if the WR he’s covering catches the ball, they aren’t getting past him. He loves helping in the run game. His highlights show numerous plays of him coming in and tackling RBs. They aren’t weak tackles either. He wallops the RB.
Brents is also a punt returner and he’s a really good one. Once again, his speed quickness, and agility make him a threat for long punt returns. However, he is a bit of a gambler as he picked a couple of punts up off the ground to return them which obviously can be a dangerous proposition.
UofL got a very good player in Brents. The guy has potential to be a stud. His ability to return punts and play either in the slot or on the outside as a CB make him potentially invaluable. Plus, it’s nice to see a Louisville kid play for the city’s university.
Check out his Hudl highlights below and see what you think.
http://www.hudl.com/video/3/4526814/57fa913e3bd81463c4767039
UofL Football Officially Announces 21 Signees For The 2018 Class
Bobby Petrino and UofL Football officially announced 21 signees for the 2018 recruiting class.
Headliners include Under Armour All-Americans Robert Hicks III and Chandler Jones, Jordan Travis, Tutu Atwell, Trenell Troutman, Dejmi Dumervil Jean, Tutu Atwell, and Jatavious Harris.
This class looks to be the best Bobby Petrino has had in his second stint here. Check out the official press release below.
UofL Signee Breakdown: Javian Hawkins
Photo Courtesy of Javian Hawkins Twitter Account (@JavianHawkins)
Javian Hawkins, a composite 3 star prospect out of Titusville, FL, committed to Louisville back on 8/7/2017. He’s out of Cocoa High school, where he was also a track and field star. Today, he officially signed with Coach Bobby Petrino and UofL Football.
On the gridiron Javian shows great patience waiting for his linemen to open holes for him, then with excellent acceleration he bursts through those holes and out runs DBs using his 4.36 speed. Standing 5’9 and weighing in at 185 lbs, Javian is very shifty and deceptively strong. Most tacklers have a difficult time bringing him down in the backfield or on first contact. He has a low center of gravity.
Photo Courtesy of Charles King/Orlando Sentinel
Javian also brings a nice and welcoming change of pace back to the Louisville backfield. He compliments both Dae Williams and Colin Wilson well as more of the speed/scat back. However, his strength makes labelling him that kind of hard. He’s like George Stripling with more power.
Javian Hawkins also had offers from Boston College, Syracuse, Missouri, East Carolina and most recently Nebraska along with a plethora of other schools. Nebraska and newly acquired Coach Scott Frost made a serious push to sway Javian in the late moments, but Javian stayed strong and signed with Louisville.
Coach Bobby Petrino got himself a legit RB. Hawkins plays bigger than his actual size. I wouldn’t doubt he could contribute this year, but I would also not be shocked if he’s red-shirted. It is great to see UofL continuing to have great success in the state of Florida.
Check out his highlights below courtesy of Bobby Petrino and see what you think.
UofL Signee Breakdown: Marlon Character, Jr
Photo Courtesy of Marlon Character’s Twitter Account (@riptrizzle)
UofL picked up a big time player who may start from day 1 in 4 Star JUCO S Marlon Character, Jr. Character is originally from Atlanta, GA and played this past season at Northwest Mississippi Community College.
The 6’1 195 lbs S, who was primarily recruited by Lorenzo Ward, chose UofL over West Virginia and South Carolina.
2018 UofL Football Signing Day Updates
Jairus Brents:
Photo courtesy of Michael Reaves/Lexington Herald Leader
- Position: CB
- Hometown: Louisville, KY
- Height: 5’10
- Weight: 178
- Considered: Pittsburgh, Alabama, Florida, Wisconsin, UK, USC, South Carolina, Oregon, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Michigan State, South Florida, NC State, TCU, West Virginia, Virginia Tech
- Twitter: @JiggaTheShow9
- Highlights:
http://www.hudl.com/video/3/4526814/57fa913e3bd81463c4767039
Marlon Character, Jr:Photo Courtesy of Marlon Character’s Twitter Account (@riptrizzle)
- Position: S
- Hometown: Senatobia, MS (Northwest Mississippi Community College). Originally from Atlanta, GA
- Height: 6’1
- Weight: 195
- Considered: West Virginia, South Carolina, Arkansas
- Twitter: @riptrizzle
- Highlights:
Javian Hawkins:
Photo Courtesy of Javian Hawkins Twitter Account (@JavianHawkins)
- Position: RB
- Hometown: Titusville, FL
- Height: 5’9
- Weight: 185
- Considered: Nebraska, UCF, Syracuse, Boston College, Cincinnati, Missouri, Florida Atlantic
- Twitter: @JavianHawkins
- Highlights:
2019 DT Decommits From UofL Football
Photo Courtesy of Andrew Ivins/247sports.com
2019 3 Star DT Malcolm Ray out of Carol City High School in FL has decommitted from UofL and is reopening his recruitment.
The 6’2 230 lbs Ray had chosen UofL over offers from Syracuse, Wake Forest, South Florida, UAB, and FIU.
This appears to be collateral damage from the loss of Cort Dennison as Dennison was Ray’s lead recruiter. It’s unknown at this time if Ray will still consider UofL.
We here at Cardinal Sports Zone wish Malcolm Ray all the best in his future endeavours.
UofL Football Hosting Signing Day Party
Press Release from the University of Louisville Athletic Department:
Louisville Football to Host Signing Day Party
Head coach Bobby Petrino will introduce the entire class at a fan party in the Brown and Williamson Club.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Louisville football head coach Bobby Petrino will present the newest members of the Louisville Cardinals football team during U of L’s National Signing Day on Wednesday, Feb. 7.
Cort Dennison Leaving UofL Staff For Oregon
Photo Courtesy of Mike Hughes/247sports.com
UofL Football is losing a key member of their coaching staff. ILBs coach and Recruiting Coordinator Cort Dennison is leaving to join Mario Cristobal’s staff at Oregon as their OLB coach per Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports and Sports Illustrated.
Oregon has also officially announced Dennison’s hire via their Twitter account.
Dennison has been constantly lauded as a young, up and coming coach. He has only been a coach on the field for 2 seasons; first as an assistant secondary coach and last year as the inside linebackers coach.
This year true freshman Dorian Etheridge had an excellent season as a starter under Dennison. Etheridge led the team in tackles with 83. Stacy Thomas also had a great year under Dennison, having 69 tackles, an interception, and 3 sacks.
Dennison truly shined as a recruiter. He was responsible for nearly all of the South Florida signees, including 4 Star Under Armour All-Americans Robert Hicks III and Chandler Jones. He was the primary recruiter for 11 of UofL’s 20 signees.
The loss of Dennison is huge. He made Etheridge into a bona fide ACC starting LB as a true freshman and he was arguably the architect behind the 2018 recruiting class, arguably the best in UofL’s history.
We here at Cardinal Sports Zone wish Cort Dennison all the best.
Jeff Walz Picks Up A Commitment From Highly Touted CA Forward
Photo Courtesy of USA Basketball (usab.com)
UofL Women’s Basketball Coach Jeff Walz picked up a huge commitment yesterday from 2019 prospect Ramani Parker.
Parker is a 6’4 F/C from Central High School in Fresno, CA. She is ranked the 11th best F in the nation and is ranked 58th overall prospect in ESPN/HoopGurlz Super 60 rankings. She had offers from Notre Dame, Stanford, UCLA, and Duke, among others.
CSZ Recruiting Contributor/Evaluator Sam Basden had this to say about Parker after watching her highlights:
“She is a great shot blocker, really nice anticipation. (She) Can make the outlet passes to start breaks.”
“She can definitely be used as a stretch big, good lateral quickness for her size.”
“She’s also a quick second leaper.”
“(Parker) Does a great job of keeping the ball high so shorter defenders can’t get to it.”
I watched some of her highlights as well and I’ll add a couple of things to Sam’s observations:
Parker seems to be a really good shooter with a pure stroke, a tough rebounder, and good finisher down low. She also has pretty good ball handling skills. Parker reminds me a lot of current Card Myisha Hines-Allen.
All in all, Walz found another gem and continues to recruit at insane levels.
Check out some of Parker’s highlights below from Hudl.
UofL Signees Robert Hicks III And Chandler Jones Set To Play In Tonight’s Under Armour All-America Game
Photo Courtesy of Under Armour All-America Game Football Twitter Account (@AllAmericaGame)
UofL Football fans can catch a glimpse of a promising future tonight at 6 pm on ESPN2. Signees Robert Hicks III and Chandler Jones will play in the Under Armour All-America game at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL.
Hicks is a highly touted ILB who looks physically ready to step in and play a big role for UofL next year. He is a physical beast with great instincts and speed to burn. Hicks is a triple threat because he can play zone coverage, rush the passer, and be a wall through which no opposing RB can pass. UofL can definitely use him with the departure of Stacy Thomas.
Signee Breakdown: Quen Head
Photo Courtesy of Quen Head’s Twitter Account (@quen_42)
Coach Petrino likes to have LBs that are versatile. Guys that can do multiple things well so that they are useful in multiple ways. Quen Head, a 6’2 215 lbs OLB, fits the mold and signed his Letter of Intent.
Head is a speedy OLB. When watching his highlights the speed is evident. He flies around the field and can cover a lot of ground quickly. He’s a triple threat in that he can play coverage, stuff the run, and rush the passer.
He seems to have good instincts and isn’t fooled often on option runs and fake hand offs. Even if he is, he can make up for it with his speed. His gap discipline seems sound. When he sees a running lane, he fills it. In fact, he runs through it like a RB would and gets in the backfield to create havoc and tackles for loss.
Photo Courtesy of Joel Powers/Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragon Sports Information
His tackling is fundamentally sound. Every highlight I saw, he wrapped up ball carriers with a near perfect form tackle. Head is also a vicious tackler. He likes to drop the hammer on ball carriers. When he hits someone, it looks painful. Head has a nasty streak and I like it.
I expect UofL to use him in coverage on TEs and as an edge rusher. His speed is really special from what I saw and he could cause issues for QBs and offensive linemen.
Coach Petrino has been looking to add speed to his team. With Quen Head, he has added speed in the linebacking corps. He also gets a solid tackler and big hitter rolled into one. This is another solid pickup for the Cards on the recruiting trail.
Check out his highlights courtesy of Hudl below and see what you think.
Signee Breakdown: Jatavious Harris
Photo Courtesy of Jatavious Harris’ Twitter Account (@screamtaaye)
Thank you Tennessee for the gift of Jatavious Harris. Coach Petrino may have signed his very own Devante Parker. The UofL receiving corps should be special for years to come with Harris in the fold.
The 6’3 184 lbs Harris is tall and athletic. Speed is a recurring theme in this class and Harris has a ton of it.
Watching highlights of Harris, it’s pretty easy to see why Petrino coveted him. He has excellent size at 6’3. Harris is quite physical and seems hard to press on the outside. He has great ability to get through the press coverage and get behind the defense.
Harris seems great at tracking the ball in the air and making adjustments to make the catch. Even if it’s a little behind him or low, he will catch it. Reminds me of Dez Fitzpatrick in this regard.
Another trait Harris shares with nearly our entire class of WRs is his catch radius. He has sure hands, great leaping ability, and long arms. He’s excellent at high pointing the ball and snatching it over smaller DBs.
Drops and fumbles should be a rarity for him as he usually uses his hands to make catches and seems to protect the ball instinctively in traffic. Harris has the potential to be a matchup nightmare for secondaries because of his abilities, much like Devante Parker once was.
Photo Courtesy of Jatavious Harris’ Twitter Account (@screamtaaye)
Harris should be a devastating yards after catch WR. He’s difficult to bring down and has some nifty moves in the open field. His high school team used him quite a bit on end around runs and he made nice cuts. This should serve him well developing his route running skills which are good, but will get better with Lonnie Galloway teaching him.
Harris has one other weapon. That weapon is speed. Harris is fast and on the tape he actually used his speed to beat a double coverage. If the QB had thrown the ball in stride, Harris would’ve had an easy TD. His speed is also evident in the return game where he had a few kick return TDs. He could help UofL immediately as a kick returner.
Bobby Petrino is really doing a great job of finding playmakers for whoever the QB will be next year. Harris seems like he can come in and play early as a returner. He may also get reps at WR.
However, with UofL relatively deep at WR, they may red shirt him and let him develop a little more physically. Regardless, UofL got themselves a high quality WR who will undoubtedly make an impact.
Check out his senior season highlights courtesy of Hudl below and see what you think.
http://www.hudl.com/video/3/4095442/5a1b7012bd6a7c01d02ca1a5
Signee Breakdown: Allen Love
Photo Courtesy of Allen Love’s Twitter Account (@rfy_55)
Coach Petrino did a great job in filling a big need with big DT Allen Love joining UofL. To get a guy with so much potential so late in the game is a huge coup for UofL.
Love is a big, but athletic 6’3 285 lbs DT. For such a large man, he’s very quick and nimble on his feet. The potential he has, in my opinion, is off the charts.
Photo Courtesy of Allen Love’s Twitter Account (@rfy_55)
As UofL has demonstrated from past classes, they love versatile defensive linemen. Love fits that mold perfectly. He will primarily line up as a DT, but he can also line up as a DE from time to time.
Love’s first step and initial burst upon the snap of the ball is insane. He’s often on the offensive linemen so quickly that they can’t even block him. He just seems to bounce off would-be blockers and makes the play.
When he is blocked, Love has power and can shed blocks with ease or bull rush the offensive linemen into the backfield. He also demonstrated a few pass rush moves such as a swim move to get over a block. Love is an interior defensive lineman who will stuff the run, but he has the ability to rush the passer too. His strength is also evident when tackling. Once he gets his big paws on a ball carrier or QB, they do not escape his grasp.
The trait the I really noticed is his ability to recognize who has the ball. He rarely seems to get fooled by option type plays. He identifies the ball carrier quickly and engulfs them. He’s not one to be easily fooled with read options from what I saw of his highlights.
UofL is obviously in need of DTs and Love is the perfect guy to get. Like all incoming freshmen, there will be things to work on. However, he seems to have a great base to build on. Welcome to the Ville Allen Love.
Check out his Hudl highlights below and see what you think.
Signee Breakdown: Nigel Kilby
Photo Courtesy of Nigel Kilby’s Twitter Account (@NigelKilby_82)
TEs are very important in Coach Petrino’s offense. He likes athletic, pass catchers. He got an excellent TE for his system with the signing of JUCO player Nigel Kilby.
Kilby, at 6’8 and 250 lbs, is gigantic and athletic. Though he can be an effective blocker, his ability as a pass catching TE is what makes him special. He has very good hands and uses them to catch the ball away from his body. At 6’8, hes great at catching jump balls. He can high point the ball with the best of them and he’s a potential matchup nightmare for opposing defenders.
Kilby has a knack for getting open even though he’s not a precise route runner. Then again, at his size, he’s practically always open. Garden City didn’t just line him up at TE, they also lined him up in the slot. He’s almost a hybrid TE/WR.
Photo Courtesy of Nigel Kilby’s Twitter Account (@NigelKilby_82)
UofL will most assuredly use him as a red zone target. However, I think UofL could use him more effectively than Garden City did. I think it’s possible his numbers will see a dramatic increase in Petrino’s system.
Kilby will be expected to replace the production of Charles Standberry, whom he reminds me of. He also reminds me of former UofL TE Gary Barnidge with his size, athleticism, and catching ability. Kilby will be one of four TEs on the roster along with Kemari Averett, Jordan Davis, and Mickey Crum.
Check out his highlights courtesy of his YouTube channel and see what you think.
Signee Breakdown: Tyler Harrell
Photo Courtesy of Tyler Harrell’s Twitter Account (@EasyMoneyTy_)
Coach Petrino loves speedy WRs. This class has a few. One of them is Tyler Harrell; a 6’1 175 lbs speed demon.
Tyler Harrell is a good route runner with great hands. He uses his hands when catching the ball rather than his body.
His main weapon appears to be speed. ESPN lists his 40 time at 4.5, but his film makes him seem much faster. Many of his highlights are simply running right by DBs.
Photo Courtesy of Andrew Ivins/247sports.com
Harrell can high point the ball. A skill many UofL fans remember Devante Parker had. He is also very good at adjusting to the ball while it’s in the air to make difficult catches.
Harrell is very strong. He uses his hands and strength to get separation from press coverage. He’s a ferocious blocker and seems to relish blocking downfield.
He also has some elusiveness and ability to break tackles. This allows him to get yards after the catch.
Photo Courtesy of Tyler Harrell’s Twitter Account (@EasyMoneyTy_)
He has a very high motor. He finishes blocks and never goes down easily. Harrell has a nasty streak, which I think will make him invaluable in the run game.
All in all, he’s a well-rounded WR. UofL might have found themselves a diamond in the rough. It’s rare you find a speedy WR that also enjoys being physical. It appears Harrell is that rarity.
You can view Tyler Harrell’s midseason highlights below courtesy of Hudl and see what you think.
Signee Breakdown: Hassan Hall
Photo Courtesy of Hassan Hall’s Twitter Account (@_sayblackboy)
Coach Petrino picked up a highly versatile player for this class in Hassan Hall. Hall was previously committed to Syracuse before Coach swept in and grabbed him. Hall played multiple positions both offensively and defensively in high school. It looks as though UofL is eyeing him as a RB.
As primarily a RB, Hall has some quickness and good speed. He’s got some power to his running style and can break tackles quite well. He’s more of a one cut, down hill runner. He’s not going to dance around much.
Hall is also a very good receiver out of the backfield and can also line up as a slot receiver from time to time. His excellent hands and quickness could make him a nightmare running the Petrino favorite wheel route.
Hall plays defense as well. He can line up as a OLB and rush the passer. Hall can also play safety and be a ball hawk in the back-end or an in the box safety that can help stop the run. Hall seems to be a great form tackler and he likes to deliver big hits.
Hassan Hall is a very versatile player. He has power and speed. He can play multiple positions including RB, OLB, and S.
It’s no wonder the Cards wanted to get this guy in the fold. Check out his highlights from Hudl below. You’ll see all the versatility he has and how valuable that will be for UofL.
